Match Make in Heaven
by Ylhatesprwns
Summary: A one-shot short story on how Obi found out about the lieutenant's feelings towards Maki. [Hinawa x Maki]


**Hi all! I'm back with another story that just popped up into my mind one day after watching episode one of Fire Force in which there was this particular scene in where Shinra and Obi were speculating about Maki's body and Hinawa threw the clipboard at them. That woke my shipping brain up. Unfortunately, I went to check the manga and found that the clipboard throwing did not happen so I guess this plot will only be unique to the anime *sweatdrops*.**

**Disclaimer: I don't owe the characters and I'm sorry if I've made them too OOC (I've tried my best).**

* * *

In the first few months of knowing each other, Obi has always thought that Hinawa's expressionless face was due to his inability to feel emotions. So as a good leader, Obi made it a habit to occasionally check in on Hinawa's feelings and encourage him to express them out. However, from his continual observations, he was surprised when he found out that his lieutenant, in fact, was quite an emotional guy even though his face said otherwise.

For example, whenever hinawa was angry, he would have a dark aura around him and a tendency to get violent. Obi was pretty sure that the clipboard that accidentally "slipped" from his hands was aimed at Shinra's head, especially when Shinra stared at Maki for too long. Speaking of Maki, Obi has also noticed that Hinawa was particularly protective whenever it comes to her, especially with his constant lookout for her regardless whether they were on or off the battlefield. Although once again, one has to really squint to see it. Obi has never thought too much about Hinawa's concern for Maki as being ex-comrades in the military, it was only natural for the lieutenant to feel responsible for the growth and safety of his subordinate. At least that was what Obi had thought... until that day.

* * *

(That afternoon)

"Permission to take half day off, sir." Maki reported to Obi with a salute.

Obi looked up from his papers. The rest of the members in the room looked up at her too.

"Have you finished your work?"

"Yes, sir."

"You're dismissed for the day then."

"Thank you sir."

"Where will you be going after this?" Obi could not help but felt curious. Maki, being the hardworking person she is, rarely took any day off. It would be something of great importance for her to ditch training.

"Uh... Well," Maki hesitated, "my brother kind of set me up on a date with his friend..."

"A DATE?!" Both shinra and Arthur shouted simultaneously.

"Get back to work, you two." Obi commanded, "and the rest as well!"

All heads turned back to their documents but Obi knew very well that they were still eavesdropping on the conversations.

"It's not what you think, captain!" Maki waved her hands in the air erratically, "he wouldn't stop pestering me about it so I agreed to go on one date to shut him up. I will be rejecting the guy later during the date."

"Even if he's a prince on a white horse?" Obi joked.

"I'm pretty sure he's not." Maki chuckled.

"Enjoy your date then."

"Thanks captain."

Obi could tell that the members were trying very hard to hold in their eagerness as Maki walked out of the room. Once she was out, the eagerness could no longer be contained.

"Pipe down guys. She can hear you from outside." Obi's words fell on deaf ears. "I guess they are really excited about Maki going on a date huh."

From the corner of his eyes, he could see the lieutenant still working on his documents and not taking part in the gossip mill. It was at this point where Obi felt it. It was akin to Hinawa's anger, he thought. The dark aura, the feeling that he was going to snapped his pen or throw his clipboard at someone. But amongst that, he thought the lieutenant looked kind of... depressed. Not that he has ever saw the lieutenant get depressed, but the expression he had was similar to the time when they found out they got last place for the naked calendar (then again, it could be his imagination).

"Are you feeling alright, lieutenant?" Obi asked. No matter how bad his mood was, Obi was sure that Hinawa would not lash out at him.

"Why wouldn't I be? It's none of my concern what Maki does during her free time." Hinawa put the papers down roughly on the table.

"From the way you're acting, I would say you don't look too happy about it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you worried that Maki will end up in a relationship with the guy?"

"I'm sure Maki places her work above dating. Furthermore, she already said she was rejecting the guy so there's absolutely nothing for me to be worried about."

_Aha! A Freudian slip!_ Obi smirked.

"So our Lieutenant is worried that she might not reject the guy."

"I did not say that."

"If the guy turns out to be her prince on white horse, will you oppose to their relationship then?"

"Of course. She should be focusing on her work and not dating."

"Even if she is really happy with him?"

For a moment, Obi thought Hinawa look conflicted.

"I'm not answering that."

"We'll see about that tomorrow." Obi gave a throaty laugh before turning back to the rest of members, "If you guys don't get back to work, I'll be doubling your workload!"

That command always work. Soon, everyone was back in their seats working on their documents diligently.

* * *

(Next day)

"So how did the date go?"

Obi was very surprised that Hinawa was the first to ask Maki the question. As usual, all pens stopped and everyone was listening into their conversation.

"It wasn't bad..." Maki hesitated.

"Did you reject him?"

"Well about that..." Her voice lowered into a whisper, "I'll be doing that later this evening..."

"Oh."

To an untrained ear, the exclamation might seem to be from someone who has not much interest in the topic. But to Obi, he could almost hear the disappointment laced within the word.

"I'm sorry for letting you down lieutenant!" Maki looked down guiltily.

Obi's eyes widened in realization. _Did Maki knew he was disappointed or was that just a coincidence?_

Hinawa just shook his head and continued working. Everyone else followed suite and soon the only noises in the room were rustling of papers and the scratching sound of writing. However, Obi could very well feel the tension between Maki and Hinawa growing by the minute even though the others seemed oblivious to it. He knew he had to do something.

"I thought you were going to reject him yesterday?" Obi asked.

Pens stopped and the room fell into silence once again.

"I wanted to reject him initially, but after seeing him... I just couldn't." Maki blushed slightly.

"Why not?"

"This is so embarrassing..." She covered her cheeks which was getting redder by the second, "that guy... he..."

She peeked shyly at Hinawa but when he looked up to meet her gaze, she gave a squeak and broke eye contact immediately.

"I can't say it."

Obi was getting impatient.

"Don't tell me he's really a prince on white horse?"

"He's not, captain."

"Love at first sight?"

"Not exactly..."

Obi racked his brain but kept drawing blank.

"Maki, as your captain, I command you to tell me the reason." He hate to do this since it was an abuse of rank, but he reasoned that it was necessary for his sanity as well as Hinawa's.

"That's not fair captain!" Maki protested.

"I'm waiting."

Maki took another look at Hinawa, blushed and turned back to Obi.

"I couldn't reject him because ...he looks like the lieutenant."

Everyone in the room froze.

"But he's nothing like lieutenant! He's gentle, kind and very fashionable!"

"So in short, he's better than the lieutenant." Arthur said aloud.

*SNAP*

That was the pen in Hinawa's hand.

At that moment, it dawned on Maki that she has made a mistake.

"No! That's not what I mean!"

"Just admit it, throughout the years, the lieutenant has always been strict on you." Arthur seemed to be getting carried away by his detective role-play. "Over time, you start to think: Oh, how I wish the lieutenant was kinder to me!"

Maki twitched.

"On that fateful day, you finally met him... a man donning the face of the lieutenant who treats you kindly, just the way you have always wanted. But alas, the lieutenant will never allow it! You are conflicted, you are unsure if you should let such an opportunity go..."

"That's not it!"

"Then would you say you did not enjoy his company?"

"Well, it is pretty nice to be treated like a lady for once..." Maki smiled dreamily but quickly shook herself awake before the misunderstanding could spiral out of control. "But that's not it either!"

"Then why did you not reject him?"

Maki cleared her throat as everyone waited for her explanation.

"Yesterday, after seeing him, I was just too overwhelmed by shock throughout the whole dinner. By the time I got to my senses, the date was already over."

"That's such a lame excuse." Arthur mumbled, clearly unsatisfied. "I like my version better."

"What were you expecting? Some soap drama?" Shinra sweatdropped.

"Sometimes the easiest answer is the truth." Sister Iris chimed in.

"I'm sure that's not the entire story. She must be withholding some information and as a knight of justice, I shall bring light to the truth."

"I'm not hiding anything! I was really in shock throughout the whole dinner!"

"So the thought of you and him together in a relationship never crossed your mind at all?"

"It did not!" The blush on her face, however, failed to convince the people in the room.

"I rest my case."

"Argh... fine! To show my loyalty to company eight, I shall call him up and reject him this instance!" Maki grabbed her phone and stormed out of the room in a huff.

"She's getting away!" Arthur stood up to follow but was interjected.

"Get back to work!" Obi shouted. "You guys should stop poking your nose into other people's business."

Arthur made a 'tch' sound and sat back in his seat.

"Uh captain, to be fair, you were the one that kind of started this whole thing." Shinra replied.

"Don't make me double your workload!"

Obi sighed as the room settled down to what it was before the whole ruckus began. He turned to look at Hinawa but realised that he was missing from his seat.

"Oh shit."

* * *

"I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to tell you yesterday... I'm really sorry... yes we can still be friends... yes... see you around then, bye." Maki hung up after what seemed like an eternity and let out a long dejected sigh.

"Starting to regret your choice?"

Maki twirled around to look at her intruder.

"You should have told me you were here, lieutenant." Maki said. "And to answer your question, I don't regret my choice."

"Why not? According to you, he is gentle, kind and very fashionable. I'm sure he's quite the catch."

"Stop making fun of me." Maki pouted. "As much as he looks like you, he'll never be the real thing."

"And what is the real thing?" Hinawa took a step forward, his eyes catching hers.

"I don't know... Intimidating, weird taste in fashion and likes to use me as a meat shield?"

"Seemed like you'll lose out a lot with the real thing."

"Really? I don't see it that way though." Without breaking eye contact, Maki took a step forward too as if to challenge him. "I think... he is intimidating because he cares about my well-being, his weird fashion shows that he is comfortable in his own skin and he uses me as a meat shield because he trusts that I'll always have his back."

"..."

"If anything I would rather have the real thing."

"Then I guess you'll be stuck with the real thing for a long time." Hinawa drew out something from his pocket. "Here, I made this for you."

Maki looked down at the object in his hand. It was a necklace with a ring on it.

"I-isn't that a-a-a ring?" Her entire face was dyed red in an instance.

"I made this last night by melting some wires together. It'll help you deter guys better in the future. After all, I don't think we can afford to have you get distracted during work." Hinawa shook his hand, gesturing Maki to take the item in his palm.

"T-thank you lieutenant." Maki obediently took the necklace, her eyes sparkling at the trinket in her hand. "My father and brother will have a heart attack if they see me wearing this around though."

"Then they should stop their matchmaking business."

"You know this will only make them want to matchmake me even more."

"And you shall reject the guys with this ring."

Meanwhile, Obi stayed hidden behind a wall, eavesdropping on their conversation.

He had initially thought that being the protective lieutenant he is, Hinawa was going to reprimand Maki for letting some doppelgänger cloud her judgment. And knowing how scary Hinawa could be when he is angry, Obi felt that it was his responsibility to ensure that the lieutenant does not punish Maki too harshly. However, after hearing the exchange, Obi had a few realizations: One, the reason why Hinawa was unhappy with Maki was not because she did not prioritize work over dating, but because he was jealous. Two, Hinawa is not protective over Maki, he is possessive. And lastly, they probably have feelings for each.

For the next few months, Obi further confirmed his guesses with a few observations: Hinawa's lingering stares whenever Maki fiddled with the ring in her fingers. Hinawa getting jumpy when Maki mentioned another matchmaker attempt by her brother. The relieved look on his face after Maki told him she rejected the guy. His slight smile when she told him she had lesser guys ogling her after putting on the ring.

As of now, Obi is sitting in his chair as he glances across the room where his teammates are working in. On one side, he sees the lieutenant passing some documents over to Maki and he does not miss their hands brushing each other. On the other side, he sees the devil sneaking glances toward sister Iris and Tamaki witnessing it with a scheming face.

_Boy, it's really tough being the captain of company eight_, Obi smiled to no one in particular.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Do leave a review if you enjoyed it :) **

**I'm still trying to get back the knack for writing stories so please bear with me for the time being. I'm not exactly a writing person and trust me, the scenes look better in my head *laughs*. **


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